Paramount Pictures is currently negotiating with Sam Raimi to rejuvenate the Jack Ryan franchise, based on the Tom Clancy-created CIA analyst character who drove four hit movies for the studio.
Variety says Raimi would develop and direct a series of films to be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Raimi’s Buckaroo Entertainment partner Josh Donen.
Alec Baldwin originated Ryan in 1990’s The Hunt for Red October and when Baldwin famously jumped ship to do A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway, Harrison Ford replaced him in 1992’s Patriot Games and 1994’s Clear and Present Danger. Ben Affleck played Ryan in 2002’s The Sum of All Fears. The four films grossed $781.5 million worldwide.
With these new films it would feature Ryan at a younger, more formative point in his career than previously depicted. One invention the studio is considering is to set the film in the present, with the action triggered by a global threat.
Paramount will hire a writer to draft a screenplay that Raimi would shoot after he completes the Universal horror film Drag Me to Hell. Paramount is looking at a summer 2010 release for the Ryan movie.
Raimi was drawn to the project because he loves the character. The studio was attracted by Raimi’s skill in navigating a franchise, following a trio of “Spider-Man” blockbusters. Raimi is by no means out of the running to make more “Spider-Man” films, but he would have to direct the first film after “Drag Me to Hell” for the studio to make its 2010 release date.
Credit: Variety
